A journal devoted to birds that live or visit Quail Valley and Fort Bend County Texas (coastal Texas near Houston) and some of their habits. A bird seen in Fort Bend that month is posted mid month.

12/14/2010

Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal is not just associated with Christmas because of its beautiful red plumage and crest. Northern Cardinals don’t migrate . . . and live year round in a good portion of the United States (excluding the Rocky Mountains, some of the Northern Plains states and West Coast). So the striking photos of Cardinals in the snow are not “photoshopped”.

The female is more muted, but beautiful in her own right. These birds come to feeders and love black oiled Sunflower seeds. They also eat insects.

And they love water and enjoy water sprinklers and birdbaths-- and just clown around.

Mostly seen in pairs, the mature female has the lovely red bill but gray feathers with red splotches that can make her appear burnt orange.

These birds are ideally suited for back yards and enjoy feeders. If you look closely at both feeders in the photo below, the male and female pair are dining together in separate feeders. Look for her red bill in the right feeder to locate her. You'll have no problem spotting him . . . and males will often sit on fences and in other prominent places so their mate can feed on the ground.

80% mate for life, but in the late winter to early spring in woodsy areas, you may see Cardinals flocking with young birds and those randy 20% finding new mates.

Males bring on their red in sploches as shown in the photo below--it's not just a bad hair day.

To learn more about the Northern Cardinal, hear an audio recording of its cheep (which may be the first bird sound of the morning), and see a wonderful video of the Northern Cardinal, visit theCornell Lab of Ornithology.

We've now posted a full year of both year round and migrating birds . . . our monthly post has barely scraped the surface of the ball park 120 birds that live or visit Fort Bend County. Happy holidays and enjoy the new year by enjoying nature and the outdoors.